Hi Everyone!

Polar Bear International Leadership Camp 2009

We saw our first polar bear today. We spotted her early in the morning about 400 yards out from the Tundra Buggy Lodge. Later that afternoon we went out on an adventure on a moblie platform that methodically crawled in her direction.

It was a truly emotional experience for all of us zoo professsionals who work with animals every day in our lives. This is our inspiring moment. This bear was looking at us possibly thinking what is this rare and unusual thing, does this bear really know how rare she actually is? While the bear was quietly resting her head on the tundra, the president of PBI, Robert Buchanan, had all of us close our eyes for a moment and imagine we may be the last generation to see this polar bear in the wild. When we all opened our eyes, suddenly she lifted her head to look at us, reaffirming that we hold her fate in our hands. Do you think it is possible that even she knows what may lie ahead, when within the next five years, the ice that she relies on may not return?